India: ‘We see no reason’ to grant Snowden asylum

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, an analyst with a U.S. defence contractor, is seen in this still image taken from video during an interview by The Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Glenn Greenwald/Laura Poitras/Courtesy of The Guardian/Handout via Reuters

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India sees no reason to accept a request for political asylum by former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, the country’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

“Indian Embassy in Moscow did receive a request for asylum in a communication dated 30 June from Mr Edward Snowden,” Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, said on Twitter.

“Following careful examination we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the Snowden request,” he said.

Snowden, wanted by Washington on spying charges for revealing a U.S. electronic surveillance program called Prism, has applied for political asylum in more than a dozen countries, including China and Spain.

(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky, editing by Ross Colvin)

[Image: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, an analyst with a U.S. defence contractor, is seen in this still image taken from video during an interview by The Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Glenn Greenwald/Laura Poitras/Courtesy of The Guardian/Handout via Reuters]